Holme, Holme on the range

Holme & Titchwell, 19 October 2003

There might not have been any deer or antelope playing but the PBC trip up to the Norfolk coast proved very successful…

The whispers started about Tuesday. 'Have you seen the weather forecast? High pressure over Scandinavia and a prolonged run of south-easterly winds. Should be really good for the weekend.' Sure enough, vagrants, blown off course from their migration from Siberia to South-east Asia duly turned up along the east coast in good numbers. All that was needed now was for them to hang around until Sunday.

Over 30 members turned up at Holme and it was good to see several new faces. The clear blue skies had vanished and the wind had shifted to the north east so there was some coniderable trepidation as to whether the rare birds would still be there. Certainly in the dunes, the brisk wind was keeping the small birds down. There didn't seem to be much movement either. Small parties of Redwings moved all day but more often than not carried on inland.

Down to the big house and ringing area we went. 'Should have been here yesterday mate' was an all too familiar story. 'We had Pallas's Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler and Barred Warbler all in the same tree.' In the event, the Pallas's Warbler proved still to be in the same tree and we then had the problem of making sure that everyone saw this tiny little Siberian waif. For once, the bird stayed in the same place and we all managed good views of it.

If you've never seen one before, think of a Goldcrest with go-faster stripes: two wing bars, eyebrows and an extra stripe down the middle of the head, all completed by the flash of a yellow rump as it hovered furiously, looking for food. These birds are rare but annual visitors to Britain, with the North Norfolk coast being the best place to catch up with them in late autumn. Just to show how fickle migration can be, a late Swallow was seen, still heading south for the winter while winter visitors such as Bramblings were coming the other way.

On the beach, there was a steady passage of Little Gulls, a few Gannets stooging past and the odd Great Skua. Small flocks of Common Scoters and a couple of Eiders popped up behind the waves. For the beginners, the first frustration of seawatching quickly set in; not being able to find the bird in the first place, let alone identify it. They will just have to take our word for it that Slavonian Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Guillemot, Razorbill and Red-throated Diver were all present.

On to Titchwell in the afternoon where another rare bird - a Red-necked Phalarope - gave tantalising views. Spending most of its time right at the back of the marsh, when my group started scanning, it suddenly appeared at relatively close range in with a flock of Golden Povers. We just started putting everyone on to it when every bird in the place suddenly spooked. Needless to say, it couldn't be relocated.

Never mind, there was a good selection of waders to worry over and even Sammy the Stilt showed well to the delight of several people who had had never seen the world's most twitched bird before. A few skeins of Pink-footed Geese flew over and Brent Geese were everywhere, their dark colouring contrasting well with the Persil-white of the Little Egrets.

All in all, an excellent day that everyone seemed to enjoy. Between us, over 100 species were logged.

PBC’s North Norfolk Trip Report by Gordon Hamlett